Requesting opinions on how to play draws

[yisman]

1)Straight draw (outside)
2)Flush draw (I guess it makes a difference based on how many cards you're holding, because that affects the likelihood others are also holding draws)

[daneblazer]

There's a plethora of factors to consider before you determine how to play a draw. As a very loose rule, take your outs on the flop and multiply them by 4 and your outs on the turn an multiply them by 2 and you'll get a rough estimation of your winning percentage vs a hand like top pair. That's leaving out things like implied odds and reverse implied odds though. I'm not sure anyone can sum up "how to play a draw" in a short post.

[lolbear]

draws are what separate average players from good, and good from great. because of the uncertainty behind draws, there are pros and cons to each option. there is one that's always inferior-- that is, to call a bet thats too big just to chase the draw. as daneblazer said, if you have 8 outs to a straight that's approximately 32%. if someone goes allin for 600 and there were 500 in the pot, you are calling for 600 to win 1100. every time you win you win 1100, and everytime you lose you lose 600. you would need more than 32% to win, so unless you feel like you have additional outs aside from your draw, you should fold.

of course decisions are rarely that easy, so make sure u understand your implied odds. for example stacks are deep 2000 each and there's a 100 pot opponent bets 100 into a 3 spades board with you holding the ace of spades. you might figure yeah i will call cos i can win 2000 for just 100. well if a 4th spades come that will become a action stopper so when you hit, you probably aint gonna get as much as you thought you would. so make sure you address the situation well

[Kaladarus]

Play them violently for the most part. Use implied odds and take free cards when you miss. Violence allows you to win when you don't hit. Calling it down is usually a bad strategy since your hand is basically flipped over for your opponent and it's hard to get value when you hit.

[yisman]

What do you mean by take free cards when you miss?

[Ian]

I recommend posting some individual hands.

In very general terms, combo draws are usually best played aggressively. The reason is because your equity in the pot is large, but your implied odds aren't as big as they seem because the cards that make your hand will also scare your opponents. For example:

You hold As7s on a flop of 9s7c3s and someone bets into you. You have a lot of outs, but if you call the bet and a spade A or 7 falls on the turn you'll only get minimal action from strong hands that you beat like T9 or KK, but if a brick falls you'll often have to fold on the turn despite all your outs. If you were to instead raise the flop in that situation, you'll often get better hands to fold and even if a hand as strong as KK gets all-in with you you're still only barely worse than 50/50 to win the pot.

Good draws to call with are straight draws. For example, you have 86 on a K75 board and someone bets into you. In this spot if you raise the flop and get reraised you will either be forced to fold or (if you're short stacked) you'll be priced into calling as a fairly significant underdog. Unlike in the prior example, calling is better here because if you hit your straight on the turn it will be very hard for your opponent to read your hand and you'll get your opponent's whole stack with hands like KQ, 75, etc.

[wtt0315]

Also one thing to considered going for a straight draw that has a few people in it is the flush draw. Lets say there is 4 people in a hand and you have 78 offsuit and the board is 5c,6c,As. A lot of people call this open ended counting they have 8 outs, but in reality you have to put someone behind you on a flush draw which takes away some of your outs. if a 9 clubs comes or a 4 clubs comes you have to think with more then 1 person in the hand you might not have the best hand. I see people calling with these straight draws all the time and i just dont get it. If i see a board like this i also think of my odds as having 6 outs instead of 8. If you are in a hand heads up and hes betting into you i wouldnt put him on a flush draw, but if you have people just calling behind you, you need to be careful.

[PaperTrail07]

There's a plethora of factors to consider before you determine how to play a draw. As a very loose rule, take your outs on the flop and multiply them by 4 and your outs on the turn an multiply them by 2 and you'll get a rough estimation of your winning percentage vs a hand like top pair. That's leaving out things like implied odds and reverse implied odds though. I'm not sure anyone can sum up "how to play a draw" in a short post.

position( can u take it down if you miss), value, implied odds....ect....ace high draw--ten high draw ect.........

[Wulfman14]

or you can be like paper and call everything .

[Kaladarus]

What do you mean by take free cards when you miss?

If you're aggressive on a flop in position it is likely the turn will be checked to you. If you hit you can bet the turn and river, but if you miss you can check and take a free shot at hitting the river. You could also bet the turn even though you missed. Being aggressive just gives you more options and disguises your hand a little better. Stack sizes are also a big factor. If you're low and have chips about the same size as the pot you can always go all in there. You got fold equity for the times you are not called and you got live cards for the times you are. Every draw is different, but like others have said aggression is usually the best way to play them.